


A Saiyan/Gem Story (Steven Universe x Dragon Ball) (Working Title)

by Tricket101



Category: Dragon Ball, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon - Cartoon, Crossover, Death, Emotional, Friendship, Gen, Manga & Anime, Outer Space, Violence, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:33:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28436193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tricket101/pseuds/Tricket101
Summary: In this crossover, we explore what might have happened if the Saiyan world Sadala was in the Steven Universe, universe. These Saiyans have been enslaved by Homeworld and used as "clean-up" mercenaries that wipe the surface of planets clean of organic life before other Gems can arrive and start building a new colony. The Saiyans addition has allowed the Gem empire to expand much further and faster than in the Steven Universe lore's original canon. Making them a much bigger threat within the Galaxy.This story takes place between two different time periods, thousands of years ago when the Saiyans rebelled and began their second fight for liberation from the Gem Empire and in the current day where Steven now exists within the timeline alongside a young Goku around the same age. We pick up the story just as Pink is gifted the Earth by the Diamonds.
Kudos: 3





	1. A Gift for Pink

There was a silence, a soft quietness that was barely holding together. She looked around herself, a smile on her face as she went about looking. Around the pillar, under the altar, in amongst the bushes of her defining hibiscus blooms. Yet, nothing. She couldn’t find her. The struggling silence popped, like a bubble, which was fitting, as she heard air bubbles rising out from the surface of the pond. She walked closer, but the bubbles were gone, like they were never there. She got on her knees, bent forward and peered long into the deep blue and now still waters. Greeted by her pink puffy reflection, she wondered if she imagined the bubbles in the first place. Then, just as she was questioning herself, her still pink and blue tinged reflection moved, disrupted by another bubble.   
Then, happened fast, the bubbles started to increase in their numbers, and as they rose to the surface; she heard a rush underneath the pond when she suddenly found herself wrapped in rubber like arms that pulled her into the shallow waters, making a splash that rained close on the pink hibiscus that filled the garden they were playing in.   
They stared at each other for a moment before she burst out with laughter as she grabbed her smaller friend, "Oh, you got me good there Spinel! I never thought you would hide under water. You really come up with the wildest ideas of where to hide whenever we play this silly game. Look how wet you got me!"  
The smaller gem gave Pink the biggest grin she could muster as her dancing eyes bounced around. She was the happiest she could be whenever she was with Pink. She jumped onto the Diamond's shoulders as Pink stood up from the pond they were sitting in. Excitedly she asked Pink, "That was fun! Do you want to go again, oh we could play another game if you want! Let’s play tag!"  
Before giving her a chance to respond, Spinel jumped off Pink's shoulders onto the ground with a squeak of her pink boots as she stretched out her hand to tag her friend.   
"Tag your it!" she said as she started running away laughing, her boots squeaking like a rubber ducks with each step she took.   
Pink's tired eyes watched her run off as she smiled, her mind going elsewhere before she was interrupted by a sudden incoming call from the direct Diamond line connected to the Garden.   
It was Yellow and Blue. Immediately Pink ran to the Diamond line, nervous and curious as to why both Yellow and Blue where contacting her here while she was in the Garden.   
"Pink, there you are!" said Blue excitedly, "We have a gift for you." Blue was smiling with Yellow besides her.  
As Spinel made her way to Pink, Yellow cut in, "Oh, come now Blue, stop with the shenanigans, let's not keeping her waiting too long. You making her worried."  
Pink clasped her hands together as she looked nervously at the two Diamonds in front of her wondering what this sudden gift was about.   
"Ah, well you see Pink. White, Yellow and I have been discussing, and we all feel it's time you come to into your own. So, with that…we have decided to give you what you’ve been asking for. A planet called Earth! You can finally start on building your very own colony! Isn't this exciting?!"   
Pink was overjoyed beyond words, so much so she didn’t know how to respond and could only thank her fellow Diamonds repeatedly to show her undying gratitude. Finally, after all this time, she was getting the one thing she desired most, a colony! And most importantly a chance to prove herself and be equal with the other Diamonds.   
Hearing this, Spinel too was beaming with joy as now she and Pink had a brand-new place to play. The countless opportunities of endless fun were now racing through her little head as she jumped up and down around Pink, who was intently listening to Yellow and Blue explain to her the duties and new responsibilities of running a colony, and how this was her opportunity to show them she can handle it.   
Pink nodded excitedly and nervously, feeling like this was all a dream. The Diamonds told her she was to go and see it for herself at this very moment. Since it was her first, they told her it was important she witnessed the cleaning of the planet for herself. This was when her second surprise was gifted to her, her own clean-up crew, a personal gift from White, the last remaining Saiyans. Put in a Zoo built for Pink to visit anytime she wanted to see them. It was a known fact amongst the other Diamonds how much Pink was fond of the Saiyans despite their brutish nature. They were amongst the very few intelligent life forms that existed and she enjoyed visiting planet Sadala to observe their daily ongoings before White decided to wipe the planet clean and claimed it as her own personal haven. Hearing that the few that were kept were now hers was almost as great a gift as getting her own planet. This was truly bliss for her.

She made her way to the warp pad, excited to view her new world for herself. Spinel followed behind her, arguably even more excited than Pink. Her wide smile brimming with pure joy as her best friend finally got what she had been dreaming of, and now they had not only a small garden to play but an entire planet to have fun in and explore, oh what wonders they would find and do together, she could hardly keep her form intact. All she had to do now was to play one last game here with Pink before they set off for their new adventure together. A promise Pink made to her that if she won, they could play all day long on the new world together! So, all she had to do was wait perfectly still for Pink until she came back for her. It wouldn’t be long until Pink returned, she was determined to win, and when she did, they would be together forever, running and playing until the very end of the universe…

~

It had been close to a century since the remainder of the Saiyan race was stationed at Pink Diamonds Zoo by White. Their home world now a personal playground for the diamond that took it from them. They bided their time, and began to grow their numbers once again as they waited within the Zoo. Their intel was limited but from what they could gather, this zoo was built by White and the other diamonds for Pink, a gift they planned on giving her when they felt the time was right. Their mighty warrior race had now been reduced to this, nothing more than a display piece and birthday present for a child, that was the only reason a select number of them were spared. It was an insult to their honour, one they were determined to rectify. Now after nearly a century of waiting, their opportunity had finally come to pass. After being told that Pink was now given a colony, and that their mission was to carry out an organic cleanup sweep of the planet's surface, the current King Vegeta carried forward a plan that had been in the making since the day the Saiyans first stepped foot onto this ship. To the Saiyans, it was either success and freedom from Diamond tyranny, or death in the second fight for liberation, there is was no other option. Now finally, after all this time they had finally done it, the Zoo was theirs. The fight was quick and the number of Saiyan causalities was kept to a minimum. The Quartz that warden them on this prison had grown soft and had forgotten about the strength the Saiyans possessed, a fact that proved to be their undoing. Now no longer mocking them like zoo exhibits, every single quartz that disgraced them was now shattered beneath their boots, the only one kept intact being the agate commander herself. Only for the purposes of relying a message to home world that all was on schedule for the Earth's clean up.   
"She should be reforming anytime now, are you sure we shouldn’t just crush her gem like the rest?" asked Shallot, the current King Vegeta second in command.  
"No, we don’t need the trouble of more gem soldiers appearing and looking for a fight. We caught these useless rocks off guard due to our passive behaviour these last few years. If anymore show up now due to a cease in communication, they will come in the thousands and all our plans would be for naught. The Gems we shattered here belong to the court of Blue Diamond, which in itself is a problem. We need to get to the Ear-" just as the King was speaking, the agate gem rose into the air, and a lit up the bridge of the ship, indicating a readiness to reform. Vegeta quietened and waited, smiling at the newly formed agate who was petrified at the sight of the shattered quartz on the floor surrounding her.  
"This is a little gift for you, a reminder of what we will do to you if you don't follow my commands." Vegeta now loomed over her awaiting a response to his threat.  
"Y-You will just shatter me anyway, much like the rest." her voice was shaky but her resolve remained firm.   
"I like that." said Vegeta smirking. Coming into the room was a quartz soldier brought in by Shallot and a few other Saiyans for good measure.   
Turning to Shallot, Vegeta asked, "Where is it's gem?"  
"Here, on the middle of its back." said Shallot  
Vegeta walked up behind the quartz and placed a firm hand on her back, covering the gem in his hand.   
"What do you want with me?" asked the quartz soldier  
Ignoring the question directed at him, he asked the agate, "What's it going to be?"   
Confused, the Holly blue began to respond, "What are you doing?"  
Suddenly as if an explosive was triggered, the quartz soldier was obliterated by a large explosion of energy erupting from the Vegeta's hand. The Quarts form was instantly destroyed and its gem shattered and then obliterated into dust by the Kings blast.  
"Wrong answer." his voice was harsh and cold as he sent for the next quartz soldier to be brought in.  
"All of us live for Blue Diamond! We gladly give our gems to protect her Grace's empire!!!" the agate exclaimed.  
The king scoffed off the agates remarks, "Well then, that makes this easier. You see I don’t plan on killing you. I know what your world does to broken gems. So, I'm going to destroy your form, and each time I do, I will crack your gem little by little, leaving you in a more pathetic and deformed state than any other broken gem. If you still refuse to talk by then, we will cast you back to your home world immediately. In such a decrepit state, they will hunt you down immediately with the rest of your off colours. But, if you die here, you will be hailed a hero on home world, a death resulting from resisting the Saiyan enemy. You will go down in history as a hero. That is the death I offer you once you do my bidding. On the other hand, if you refuse, you will be hunted by your own kind. Held responsible as a deserter and traitor of the massacre of gems that took place here today. At that moment you will be known as a malformed disgusting mistake of a rock, before long, you will be forgotten like the trash your kind really are. A failure. Those are your two choices agate. So, I ask again, what will it be?" Vegeta throughout his entire monologue did not once take his eyes away from Holly Blue, not even to blink, watching for the moment when her resolve morphed into fear, then absolute dread and misery.

Feeling herself fading and knowing he meant every word like the vile beast he is; Holly Blue felt her resolve die, he had defeated her. He was right, that was the undeniable truth of her situation that had just dawned a look of pure fear and terror on her face.  
"I-I…(Sigh) What do you want from me?" she said, the heaviness in her voice echoing her defeat.   
The King smiled, as he responded simply, "What I want is a simple request. Once you might even approve of… to carry out the mission and head to earth for Pink Diamond."

~

It didn’t take long for her legs to reach the Earth. Coming into view of the blue ball, Pink sat there in awe as her eyes lit up. Her Pearl looked up at her and shied away. Not wanting to attract any unnecessary attention to herself.   
"Pearl, isn't it wonderful?! Oh, it's just simply marvelous!" Pink was unable to hold back her feelings and be the strategic and firm Diamond Yellow told her to be when running her own colony at this moment.  
"Yes, my Diamond! It is truly a magnificent specimen!" Pearl said echoing her Diamonds words and sentiment  
"Oh, I hope I can do this. Yellow and Blue are counting on me. I don’t want to disappoint them." Pink said to her new Pearl nervously, trying to develop a bond with her.  
"Oh no, my Diamond!" Pearl exclaimed, "You are the pinnacle of perfection. You can do no wrong! I am familiar with the startup process of building a new colony. So even if you do feel there is too much on your shoulders, I will carry your burdens and assist you along the way."   
Pink looked at Pearl, unsure what to say in response, decided just to ask about the current update status of the colony.   
"We are the 37th vessel to arrive, my Diamond. One unmanned ship has touched the surface and the other thirty-five have currently landed on this planets satellite. Since it is devoid of all life, your Diamond base can be worked on immediately without the need for an organic cleanup. The planet itself has only been subjected to injectors sent to a remote part of the planet where the organic life seems not to dwell in large numbers. This was done so that work can begin on beta Kindergarten. We are currently awaiting the arrival of the Saiyans to clean the remainder of the planet's surface before the beta gems emerge. They shall be arriving in a few short hours."  
Pink faced appeared to be annoyed, "Earth."  
"Excuse me my Diamond?" said a confused Pearl.  
"The planet, it has a name, it's called Earth. Use it." said Pink who had grown fond of her little blue ball.  
"Oh yes, of course. Forgive my insolence my Diamond." apologized a deeply sorry Pearl.  
After hearing Pearls update, Pink realized that no warp pad had been worked on for the planet and therefore her only way to get to it was to fly her legs down to the surface itself. After getting her legs locked into the Earth's orbit and making the suggestion to Pearl that she wanted to visit the Earth and see it for herself, a few gems were dispatched to build a warp pad that linked directly to her legs. This was done to avoid any damage that might incur to Pink's legs by the local organic life and by the inevitable arrival of the Saiyans.   
"The warp pad will be ready in just under an hour my Diamond. Clear instructions were given to report as soon as the pad is installed." Pearl informed her, and soon enough it was ready. Pink's mind was set on warping down to earth alone, to see her world before the arrival of the Saiyans who would strip the rock bare. It was at this very moment, where two entire worlds, two entire civilizations would change forever.   
The instant the light of the warp pad faded, she was taken away by a view that shook her very gem. When the dim blue light faded; Pink was given a warm greeting by a shifting blue sky that now burst with colours that flooded her blushing eyes, an exploding aura of orange that dipped into crimson shades of rose and golden ambers of varying intensities as these shimmering hues rushed towards her, evening touching upon her own shy tinge that blossomed across the azure sky and seemingly into the star itself, all these wild and surreal lights illuminating from the once white star now hiding beyond the horizon, all fragmented into a wild bouquet of lucent colours that flashed before her eyes, filtered through the Earth's atmosphere.   
The blue light faded, its shallow shade slowly giving way to a green hue, a colour with pastures that grew in its vivid glow as the blue dissipated from her eyes. She was awe struck when she found herself suddenly consumed in vast lush grass fields that stretched as far as her flushed eyes could see. The blue in front of her was completely gone, yet as she stood on the pale warp pad, she looked up and found that it was still there, lingering above her, the warp light had spread and covered the sky all around her. Yet, now, its shade was not the colour was she remembered. This blue cast was deep, as deep as the green world that she was lost in. Never before had she seen such depth in colour, the shine of this world even outmatched the lustre Blue Diamond. She was trapped in this prism of light, fashioned from a world which she had no desire to escape from, but rather desired to sink further into. This overwhelming sensation was one she revealed in, it frightened her, leaving shivers throughout her gem, a feeling she had never before had the pleasure of experiencing, just like calm winds passing gently through her soft cotton candy like hair. It was almost unbelievable to her, that such a world could belong her and her alone. The earth was…nothing like she could imagine, all these feelings, all these tender wild thoughts, just at the first sight. Euphoria, a word that could only echo the true feelings she felt beaming through her shy gem.   
She heard laughter, words being exchanged, dialogue of a native yet alien language she couldn’t understand. She turned and saw them walking about the grass fields, a pair of humans, a large one with a smaller one their shoulders carrying a basket. They hadn't noticed her yet. She didn’t want them too. They seemed happy, they were organic, but to Pink, they shone brighter than any gem she had ever encountered, with colours that she had never before seen.   
It was only a moment, and she found herself with a tear falling from her eye, because it was then she came to understand…life does not begin in a Kindergarten, it ends there.   
Now for the first time, she was about to step off the warp pad, her slipper to touch the soil of her earth, when the voice of her Pearl appeared inside her mind, "I'm sorry to disturb you my Diamond, it seems that the Saiyans are ahead of schedule and shall touch down on the planet within a few short moments. I apologize to cut your visit short but you best make haste to return before they arrive." Pearl's clear and harmonized voice was like a scissors that cut her off from this surreal world she had just lost herself in and brought her mind back to reality. Without saying a word, she raised her hovering foot and placed it backdown on the warp pad. It was now she that she had snapped back to her own reality that she felt an incredible emptiness inside her, one which she had never felt before, or at least, one she could deny no longer.   
'At least, this world did not get the chance to be sullied by my presence, I will not allow my stain to tarnish such a creation. When it disappears, the virgin Earth will have kept its purity right until the very end.'   
The fading blue light surround her once more, completely closing her off from the earths rich glimmer, before taking her way back to her ship.

~

Pink was back on her ship, her legs now orbiting the earth just like the satellite that her Diamond base was being built on. She was quiet and she stood on the warp pad, her eyes focused on the window she asked Pearl to pull up so she can view the sight of her blue planet within her legs. Her expression was a concoction of pain, joy and absolute guilt. When Pearl showed up next to her, she was shocked to find her Diamonds with tears in her eyes. Asking what was wrong and how she could help her in any way she can.   
Pink simply stood there, Pearls words falling on deaf ears as her own gem was racing with mixture of emotions she had never felt before. It was only a moment, a split second, love at first sight. This small and insignificant blue ball floating throughout space belong to a system of stars not worth much, had given her something beyond her own comprehension, it was a gift she didn’t ask for nor deserve. She was grateful, a feeling of humbleness she had never experienced before consumed her, this world did not belong to her, the Earth was not hers, she was not worthy of it. She found herself thinking, earth is a Gem in and of itself, the last of a pure cut no Diamond could compare to.   
"Pearl, must I really destroy such a beautiful world?" she asked, her eyes glued onto the image of the Earth in front of her  
Pearl was slightly confused by Pink's words yet chose to keep this to herself, " You are creating a new world my Diamond, the Earth will be your new home, a colony created by your design as you see fit, you will take the Earth and transform it into a civilization for gemkind that exceeds all previous set colony limitations. An Earth with true brimming potential and life, my Diamond."  
Before Pink got the chance to speak, Pearl announced the arrival of the Saiyans, a news that the Diamond dreaded as she took her seat, preparing herself to witness the surface a world she desperately wished she had gotten the chance to know, get completely destroyed.   
The arrival of the Saiyans appeared as if there where countless shooting stars in the sky all about to rain down towards the earth. Pink knew how this process was supposed to work, as the individual pods of the Saiyans would race towards the planet, they would then split like the petals of a blooming flower and spread across the entire surface of the planet to ensure it was completely cleaned before meeting at a chosen destination after it was done. Yet, this was not the turn of events that transpired. Suddenly, the shooting stars towards the earth did not bloom as she expected but split, a third of their forces rushing towards the Earths satellite, another third to the Earth's surface itself, and the final lot moving towards her own location on her ship.  
Shocked by this turn of events she quickly turned and asked Pearl what was going on, "Pearl, what's happening, what are they doing?"  
"I-I do not know my Diamond. This is not standard protocol." Pearl responded worriedly.  
"Pull up the feed from Earth, I want to see what’s going on." she directed instructions to Pearl who immediately did so. 

It was then that what they saw was a horrid, unexpected image that hit them so hard feeling like a physical cut deep into their gems. Countless new gems being completely shattered and obliterated just as they emerged from the dust of the Earth. None of them stood a chance, those who were still incubating inside the Earth being blasted by the Saiyans to pieces, not being allowed to even see the light of day. It was a massacre of an unprecedented scale, reducing the beta Kindergarten to absolute ash, all except from one gem who had emerged just as she was about to obliterated inside the dirt of the Earth and immediately adjusted to the situation at hand.   
Pink and her pearl watched in absolute shock as the Quartz gem fought her way through the rebelling Saiyans, crushing their skulls with her bare hands and using her helmet to ram into hordes of them at a time, fighting her way to the warp pad.  
It was then that this gem came face to face with Shallot, a Saiyan that served at Vegeta's right hand, he was the one leading the attack on the Earth's surface.   
Just newly formed, this Quartz Jasper was not yet able to properly differentiate the different levels of strength between the Saiyans, but with this one, she could immediately tell just by looking at him, that he was in a different league of his own. She smiled, excited at the challenge as he lunged at her. But as she was preparing her counter attack he suddenly disappeared and she was then hit into the ground from behind, seemingly with the weight of a boulder that caught her off guard. Before she had the time to get back up, she found herself being pummeled into the ground right before being flung into the air. As she was midair, Shallot arm rushed towards her, his hand taking hold her face in a vice grip as she felt his energy gathering at the center of his palm right where her gem was located, ready to blast her into smithereens.   
On instinct, she summoned her helmet out of her gem once again, forcing a shocked Shallot to release his grip and allowing her an opening of which she took full advantage of. Quickly she curled her body and spun into him, ramming him in the chest with the head of her helmet causing him to fly into the cliffside, creating a crater within it due to the sheer raw power that she put into her attack. Using her built up momentum, she smashed her fist into him continuously deepening the cliff side crater as she let out a crazed laughter before grabbing by the waist and violently throwing him up. Following suit, Jasper jumped, soaring pass the nearly unconscious Shallot, bring her legs up only to stomp him back into the ground below with enough force to shake the cliffside they fought under.   
Shallot, now barely holding on, could feel the heel of Jasper's boots press deep into his back. His blood feeling as if it was boiling within him, he refused to let this be the end. 'Not like this, not by a damn gem' he told himself. He summoned the last of strength, his white aura now burning so hot that Jasper flinched at the heat coming off of Shallot. He grabbed her heel, his grip fueled with hatred that gave him the strength needed to hold her in place no matter how hard she struggled.   
He looked up at her, his face all blooded and beaten as he smiled at her, "This is only the beginning. You and your kind will be dealt the same hand of judgement you cursed the Saiyans too. Your precious Diamond will be the first, but before we shatter her, I'm taking you with me." Jasper looked up at the sky, to where Pink's legs could be seen, noting the spacecraft hurling towards the planet as it broke apart. Shallots words echoed in her mind as she could only utter a single word before he released his energy and exploded, "No…"  
The blast was large enough to be seen from across the entire Kindergarten, briefly pausing the ongoing battle as the energy roared in the star lit sky, creating the illusion of a dawning sun across the horizon. Shallot's and Jasper's battle, was finally over.

It all seemed unbelievably quiet, as if nothing had ever happened. Only the echoes of gently cracking fires could be heard in the distance as Pink's legs went up aflame. Amongst the wreckage, a newly reformed and badly beaten Jasper searched for any sign of her Diamond. Amongst the bodies she pushed aside and the broken gems she stepped over, nothing there had told her what had happened to Pink. Growing fearful and frustrated, she screamed and punched the floor of the burning ship, the force of her strike restarting the ships onboard system that then extinguished the flames so that spacecraft might be salvaged before sounding an alarm. She noticed that the reason for the alert was to announce the deployment of a secondary craft from within the diamond headquarters of the ship. Jasper feel to the ground relieved. Knowing that the only one that could deploy that particular aircraft was Pink Diamond herself, her course was plotted for home world. It could only be her, no Saiyan would dare go there. She cried, her diamond was safe, she had fulfilled her duty, now she just needed to find her own way home.


	2. The Boy with a Monkey's Tail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts us off a few thousands of years after the first chapter but almost half a century before present-day on earth.  
> We will see both the past, and move onto present-day earth from Steven's perspective.

“Are you sure about this? Is this what you see?” she asked, her calm monotonous voice echoing throughout the elevated platform as she was seated in her palanquin.  
“Yes, my diamond. This will be the turn of events that shall transpire. Of that, I have no doubt.” the sapphire curtseyed at Blue diamond’s eminence.   
“Very well. Let it happen. Times embrace will eventually catch up to us all. All, except for her.” the serene beauty within her voice calmed her gems who would otherwise be panicking at the impending attack predicted by the sapphire.  
“This gems worth only exist because of you. I live to aid in your service, my diamond.” the sapphire humbled herself before Blue as she made her way out.  
It wasn’t long before the sapphire’s prediction came to pass. Just as she stepped off Blue diamond’s palanquin, the Saiyan attack began.  
From the heavens of the azure sky, could be seen hundreds of pods like shooting stars heading for the elevated platform that rested Blue diamond’s palanquin. The pods broke through the protective barrier with ease and crashed with a thunderous boom, which shook the entire forum. From the centre of the crater, the Saiyans emerged from their pods, ready for battle.  
The Saiyan warriors were met by the small force of Blue diamond’s court, ready to face them with the little time they had to prepare. Each squadron of rubies was led by a quartz soldier, leading the gem defence against the invasion.  
The first few Saiyans who climbed out of the crater found themselves surrounded. Their enemies had already cornered them, and while the response to their attack was small, the strategic outline of their formation put the Saiyans at a disadvantage. Making the battlefield more even.  
One of the Saiyans leading this attack looked around. He noticed the sapphire standing at a distant corner, instantly coming to the conclusion that it was the reason for this. However, he smiled. They were attacking a Blue diamond base, a sapphire telling the future was something they prepared for. They were expecting the unexpected. To him, it didn’t matter, knowing the end could not change the outcome of this fight. This base would come crashing down to the surface of the planet in flames.  
  
“Hehe, looks like I was right, Bardock. After this, you going to owe me.” said Celipa mockingly.  
“Hm, it doesn’t matter. We still going to burn this place to the ground.” he responded, full of confidence.  
“Well then, what are we waiting for? This is war. Let’s crush these rocks.” responded Tora, eager to get to the fight.  
Without saying another word, Bardock dashed forward, crashing into the quartz soldier in front of him and breaking through the ruby brigade.  
The quartz quickly recovered and brought out a mace from the gem in her forearm, which she promptly grabbed and used to smash into Bardock’s face. Separating him from her and sending him into the air.  
The Saiyan quickly broke his ascent, with a quick outburst of energy as he spread out his arms and legs. He looked for the gem on the ground below him, which seemed to disappear from sight. Suddenly, he felt a surge of pain from the centre of his back and found himself hurtling towards the ground. The gem attacked him with all her might, her mace making dents in his armour as they both descended to the ground with an accelerating pace. They both crashed into a domed shaped glass structure with frightening velocity. The gem quickly recovered, grabbed Bardock by this hair, and flung him out far across onto the rest of the new battle-damaged platform. Before having the chance to stand up, the Saiyan instantly found himself being grabbed by the leg by a giant ruby fusion who proceed to smash him repeatedly into the ground like a rag doll. Before throwing him again into the quartz he had previously been fighting, whose mace caught the Saiyan and across the face and redirected the force towards the ground. She held him in place by placing her foot over his neck and brought her raised mace down to crush his skull.  
However, Bardock caught the mace in his hand, the spikes on the weapon drawing blood from his palm, which dripped down onto this smirking face. “I have said this countless times, and I will say it again. Collectively, you rocks are stronger than us. The strength you possess lies within your technology and endless stamina. However, when faced one on one, there isn’t a chance in hell any of you could best a Saiyan. Our raw strength and power alone eclipse everything you can throw at us!” A burning white aura surrounded Bardock, who was done playing the fool. The mace impaling in his hand began to burn, which forced the gem to let go, causing the weapon to dematerialize. He quickly grabbed her by the foot, keeping him pinned to the ground, reversing the roles, now keeping her in place as she fruitlessly struggled to break free. His body began to rise into the air, turning from a horizontal to a vertical position. Now facing himself straight up, he continued to hold her in place by both of her legs. Gripping her legs tight, he began to spin her in the air. Going faster and faster until all you could see was a swirl of purple and white. Before he returned the favour and flung her into the spot where blue diamond’s palanquin had been. Crashing on top of her just seconds afterward, he held her face in a vice grip. He proceeded to smash her head into the ground numerous times until he finally barraged her with energy blasts that originated from his palm, which was still holding her head in place.  
When the dust cleared, Bardock was alone, and the gems form had been destroyed. He found her gem, peeping out from under the debris of his assault. He had a look of disgust on his face, to which he spat on the rock before shattering it beneath his feet.  
He looked over to find his platoon position so he could assist in the battle. Instead, he once again locked eyes on the sapphire, hiding in a place not far from him. It wasn’t long before he ripped her out and threw her to the ground.  
“You know, I’m actually supposed to shatter you, but that would be so wasteful. You could prove useful to our cause. I’ve managed to repair one of those mirror interrogating items you gems use against your own kind. Pretty impressive for a savage animal, right?” Bardock said, now crouching down to the level of the sapphire. “I need to see if it works. With you in there, we could stand to gain crucial intelligence of Blue Diamond’s plans, plus the added benefit of forcing you to show us the future.” A ball of bright yellow energy appeared in his hand, which lit up the sapphire’s face, revealing her stoic expression. “Heh, I guess that look makes sense.” Bardock was about blast her but was caught off guard when a ruby foot soldier pushed the sapphire out of his way, causing his blast to hit the platform. He looked over to find the two gems glowing brightly, their forms melding into a single shapeless entity before coalescing into an iridescent flash that illuminated the entire platform. The bright hot light caused a brief pause to all fighting before fading away, revealing… a being unlike that he had never seen before.  
  
She opened her eyes to find that time had stood still, and the world had stopped turning. She could suddenly see so much more and feel sensations that were slightly familiar yet completely new, changed into something different. No, the world had not frozen in time, so why were they looking at her. She panicked when she saw his face. Remembering his promise of forced servitude and imprisonment. She was meet with a unique duality of petrifying fear and impotent rage. Both emotions were strangely familiar and entirely anew. This was strange; it was a new sense of completeness she had never felt, that they had never felt. “They?” She thought. Was she not alone? She felt alone. Yet somehow, she knew she wasn’t. She felt as light as a feather but afraid to move her body that she might crumble under her own weight. She was sure of the one thing, that is, whatever this was, it was not part of the plan.  
She looked down at the pale blue marble platform and saw an unrecognizable face with blue, red, and violet eyes. Shock and surprise caught her off guard when she realized it was her own reflection. She stumbled and crawled, not used to moving this strange new body she found herself inhabiting.  
Suddenly reality hit her. Then, everyone else aboard the massive floating platform when the entire thing started to become unstable and broke apart from the point where that Saiyans blast hit the floor. The fighting continued despite the platform’s increased velocity as it re-entered and descended this planet’s atmosphere. She just sat on the floor, confused about what to do now, a feeling new to both of them. She was supposed to be destroyed; she was supposed to save her. Now they were both her, stuck, unable to comprehend themselves and their surroundings.  
All she saw was the gems retreating and the Saiyans viciously attacking them as if their own lives were not in danger as well. Eventually, as the platform continued to burn to a point where all organic life would be unable to survive, they too made their escape. Tears filled her eyes, as the one thing she was finally sure about was the fact that she wanted to live.  
She found herself suddenly flying through the air, only realizing it after the fact. The very same Saiyan had grabbed her and flew full speed past the falling debris on the platform. She wanted to live, but imprisonment was a fate far worse than death.  
He had made it off the platform just a few moments before impact with the planet’s crust. The crash explosion caused massive shockwaves and whiplash that spread so far and wide that it disrupted the Saiyan’s flight path. This disruption caused both of them to tumble and crash through native forest vegetation and trees before hitting solid rock, which put their motion to a halt.  
It took her a while to come to her senses. She pushed her hands through her unusual cotton candy-like hair for the first time. With the likeliness of a babe, both since she had just taken a hard hit and was not used to this body, raised to two feet, leaning on the cliffside that broke their fall.  
The Saiyan seemed to be in the worst shape, sustaining cuts and bruises on his organic body from this fall, seemingly more so than he did from his fight with the Quartz gem.  
When he finally came to and got onto his feet, there was an awkward silence as he looked at her through what seemed to be a pain-filled gaze.  
Much like the moment, awkwardly and shyly, she asked, “What are you going to do to me? I won’t let you take her!” she quickly placed her free hand over her mouth, not familiar with the sound of her own voice.  
He gave what appeared to be a smile before straightening himself out and ripping off his broken armour. “I know you won’t. You pretty much proved that already.” he began to stretch his body and crack his bones, his body seemingly somewhat recovered from his fall and battle. “You’re a strange orphan. Lost on this strange planet with no allies nearby. I wonder if you will make it out okay. I guess I will never know.” he said as he began to make his way through the jungle, leaving her behind.  
“Wait, what am I supposed to do now?” she said, trying to follow him before falling to the ground.  
Bardock paused for a moment, as if in thought, before turning his head slightly back, “What the rest of us do, endure and survive.”  
Before she could even respond or ask another question, he disappeared, gone from her sights, beyond into the thick alien jungle.  
  
  
~  
  
  
It was a cold Saturday night. The stars shone brightly in the sky and the moonlit up beach city in a soft blue hue that gave off a distinctly eerie atmosphere. Out into the distant, the sound of crashing waves was drowned out by the bellows of excitement and cries of anticipation. Inside an old and crumbling building, Steven could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he stood alongside Amethyst, taking on waves of opponents without even breaking a sweat. The feel of clashing fist and knuckles with another in a ring was a feeling unlike any other; he took a hit and returned one in kind while the crowd cheered him on. It was fun to cut loose like this every once with a friend by his side. Since his questionable start into the underground wrestling world, he started to really get into it with Amethyst. He was finally seeing why she enjoyed this so much and beginning to form his own passion for the sport as well. He was a violent person by no means; this was all in good fun with no ill intent and lasting consequences, something he truly appreciated in this hobby.  
Right now, he and Amethyst were in their 3rd match for the night, finally having the long-awaited rematch with The Good-Looking Gang. The fight had only just begun but it was fast approaching its inevitable conclusion.  
“I don’t think this Puma and Tiger are looking to drag this one out any longer folks, The Good-Looking Gang ain’t looking so hot right now, and it seems P&T are setting up their finishing move!” Mr. Smiley announced loudly, roaring up the audience even more.  
Steven took hold of Amethyst’s hand. She prepared to spin him in the air, building up enough momentum to send Steven flying into the duo with a double roundhouse kick. The Purple Millionaire!  
The Good-Looking Gang went down hard and knocked out, ice cold. The crowd went wild and floored the arena with cries of victory and tears of both joy and sadness. Steven looked over out at the crowd noticing Lars standing there with a large sign reading “Unbeatable! Tiger Millionaire is the greatest!” in block letters with tears in his eyes.  
“Another victory for Puma and Tiger folks! This duo is just impossible to put down! Who now will step up and take on this devasting pair?!” Mr. Smiley yelled into the mic as both Steven and Amethyst raised their arms for the crowd’s excitement.  
“Who’s next?” said Steven picking up the mic, “We just getting started. We can do this all night!” he said proudly, the crowd backing and cheering him on.  
It was then that Amethyst pointed towards the bottom of the ring. A little boy could be seen climbing up and rolling under the lowest rope to get inside. “Oh, looks like someone is daring enough to take them on after all, all alone at that as well. What in the world is the man thinking? Did he not just witness the previous 3 opponents get crushed?” said Mr. Smiley to the audience.  
Steven turned to where she was pointing and took a good look at this new challenger. Noticing a scrappy young boy around his own age. He was very odd, with spikey black hair that was even wilder and unkempt than his own with what seemed to be a tail protruding outside from this backside. It was freaking him out a bit, as the tail moved in coordination with whatever the boy did. When he was dusting his clothes off, it moved. When he began to stretch, it moved. Even when he was hopping from side to side, it moved. Almost as if it was a living thing. Steven was worried, the crowd booed the newcomer, and he didn’t want to hurt him. Yes, he was a kid himself, but he was not like other humans. He could seriously hurt someone his own age if he was not careful, especially with Amethyst in the mix too.  
“And who are you?” Steven asked, keeping up his charade as Tiger Millionaire as he addressed the new challenger. “Do you really think you can beat both of us? By yourself? Don’t make me laugh. We can never be beaten!”  
The crowd cheered again, and the odd-looking boy finally looked up directly at Steven, “Oh, hey there! I’m here to fight. I’ve come all this way because I heard you’re strong. I can’t turn back now.” he said with a huge smile on his face.  
Mr. Smiley, who was now in the ring, added his commentary, “Did you hear that, folks? This mysterious challenger has travelled a long way just to fight our Puma and Tiger. Whoever he is, he must have some guts cause not many would dare take them on! It seems the monkey has come to challenge Puma and Tiger to rule this wild jungle! It’s all coming together, folks! The mightiest beasts of the animal kingdom all here, tonight, in this ring, ready to rumble! Such entertainment can only be found here! Without further or do, let’s get this fight underway!” Mr. Smiley made his exit leaving the three of them to it.  
“Well, ready when you are.” said the Monkey boy, taking a fighting stance.  
Knowing it was too late to turn back now, Steven just whispered over to Amethyst to hold back and to try and end the match quickly, to which she simply replied, “You got it, dude!”  
Amethyst dashed forward, charging the boy as quick as she could to toss him over the ring. However, she wasn’t quick enough as he jumped up at the last second and used her head as a footing to then leap forward with his own charge towards Steven. Just barely able to move out of the way, Steven was surprised by his opponent’s quickness. Even more so when he almost instantly bounced back at him with a clean hit against his jaw, knocking him to the ground. Now, he felt pain. Not only was he fast but he was also incredibly strong. Just as strong as he was, if not stronger. He would have had to suffer more attacks if it wasn’t for Amethyst, who tackled the boy into the corner of the ring before slamming him onto the floor. She climbed up onto the 3rd rope and leaped off, spinning herself in the air into a purple razer ball as she was about to make direct contact with him. However, just as she was about to hit, the boy got up and, with impeccable timing, caught her mid-air and evening bring a dead stop to her spin with no burn marks on his hands. The shock overwhelmed her, allowing him to slam her through the floor of the ring, creating a massive hole that left everyone shocked and gasping. The crowd stopped, and everyone froze, leaving the boy confused and asking why the fighting stopped.  
“Huh? What’s wrong? Are we still fighting? Did I do something wrong?” the pure dumb and innocent look on his face told Steven everything he needed to know. It was like looking in the mirror. Was he a gem? No, he couldn’t be; he looked and felt human. Maybe…he was half gem, just like himself. Now that was a wild and careless thought that crossed his curious mind.  
“This match is over, folks. No ring, no fight. It sucks, but rules are rules, and we have them for a reason. Time to head on home.” said Mr. Smiley, who now proceeded to approach the boy asking how he was to pay for the damages he caused.  
The crowd booed the new challenger even more so. The boy stood there, confused. The raging mob was pissed their night is ruined, and a distraught Mr. Smiley was demanding cash from him to fix the ring.  
“So we not fighting anymore? But I came all this way…” said the confused and disheartened boy.  
Steven stepped in, apologizing to Mr. Smiley as he felt all three of them were partially to blame for the ring’s destruction. After claiming that he would come by tomorrow morning to clean up his mess. Thinking it be better for everyone right now if they were out of the public eye, Steven made a hasty departure, pulling the boy by the arm along with Amethyst following behind them.  
Once outside the arena and a safe distance away under a light pole of Beach City’s streets, Steven removed the tiger attire from his face. He turned to face this boy and Amethyst. “Are you okay?” he said, directing his question at Amethyst.  
“Yeah dude, I’m good. What about you? You sure got out of there in a rush, man.” she replied as she shapeshifted back into her original state.  
Before Steven could respond, the boy who tagged along with them found himself pleasantly surprised and shocked at the sudden glow and transformation Amethyst had undertaken. “Woah! How did you do that? That’s so cool! You were really big, and now you’re small, just like me.” he said, laughing.  
“Hey, who you calling small?!” Amethyst reacted, her pride somewhat hurt. “We out of that ring now, which means I don’t have to hold back anymore, so watch it!”  
“Hey now calm down, guys. Amethyst, you and I both know he didn’t mean anything by it, did you…heh, I guess with all the commotion, I never really got to ask your name.” Steven said with a peel of nervous laughter.  
“Oh, my name is Goku.” said the boy grinning, “Nice to meet ya!”  
“Goku, huh? That’s…an unusual name. I’m Steven, by the way. This is Amethyst.” Steven said, introducing himself  
“Ama what now?” Goku said, looking slightly confused, “That name is way more weird than my own, hehe.”  
“It’s Amethyst, dude. Get it together. It’s fine if you can’t say my name just… don’t call me small again.” she said to him in a quiet and slightly sombre voice.  
“A-me-thyst. Amethyst. Amethyst. Hey, I think I’m getting the hang of it now.” he said, smiling towards her.  
“Okay, it’s getting late. I think you and I should get back to the temple.” Steven said, looking at Amethyst. “Are you okay to get back to your home from here?” he said, now turning his attention to Goku.  
“My home? It would take me forever to get back home from here. I just got here this morning.” he replied  
“This morning? To Beach City?” asked Steven.  
“Ah-huh.” responded the boy.  
“Well, did you find any place to stay when you got here? There’s plenty of good B&B’s around Beach City for you to choose from. I can’t say much, but there should be one to fit whatever price range you may have.”  
“I spent most of my money just to get here. After that, I spent the rest of it eating up for the big fight. I can’t fight on an empty stomach.  
“Wait, wait, wait, so you came all the way out here to Beach City, just for a fight? And you spent all the money you had on food? Did you even think about what you were going to do after you got what you came for?!” Steven asked, feeling slightly frustrated.  
“Well, I normally just wait and see what happens when I’m done with the fight. Things usually work out some way or the other. I don’t worry about stuff like that much.” he said calmly towards steven, putting his hands behind his head.  
Steven was bewildered by the carefree nature of Goku; under normal circumstances, he would have been happy to find such a free spirit in Beach City. But with Mr. Smiley now breathing down his neck because of the ring and the destruction at the arcade, he and well, mostly Amethyst caused, he was on slightly on edge. One Amethyst in Beach City was barely manageable; two was just like discovering the mixture to pure Annihilation, safe cause, for Onion.  
“Okay, so it seems like you’re my prob… guest for the night. I don’t think the Gems will mind too much. In the morning, we will see what we can do about getting you home.” Steven said tiredly while sizing up Goku with his eyes.  
“Sleepover with a stranger, sounds like fun.” said Amethyst with an ironic undertone.  
“Come on. Let’s go. I’m really tired and need some sleep.”  
“Okay.” Goku said with a smile on his face as he followed Steven  
  
In his usual fashion, Steven woke up rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as the golden rays of the yawning sun broke through his window, lighting up his room. In his daze, he pulled his tired body from the bed after his unforgettable late night. He made his way to the bathroom, his mind not registering the disappearance of his unexpected guess just yet. A few minutes passed, and he sprung open the bathroom door, his eyes now wide open as if a light bulb just turned on inside his head. His eyes darted over to the couch where Goku should have been, but all he found was the blankets he had given his guest neatly folded and laid gently on the sofa where he slept. He hadn’t seen the gems yet, and all he could hear was the crashing of the distant waves which naturally surrounded the temple. There wasn’t much to search as each room was visible from where he was now standing. He already knew he couldn’t enter any of the other parts of the temple without a gem.  
“Maybe he had already made his way back home,” Steven thought out aloud. “Could he have run into the other gems? No, they would have woken me up for sure.”  
Feeling hopeless about the situation, he knew he could only find out information from the other gems when they came out of their rooms. He thought it was still too early to bother them at this hour of the morning.  
He turned around to have a look outside by opening the door. To his surprise, and quite obviously, he thought, he saw Goku sitting on the beach, watching the sunrise.  
Relieved and smiling, Steven approached him slowly, “So this is where you are. I thought you just left. How long have you been out here?”  
Goku got up and turned, his large black spikey hair blocking Steven’s view of the sun, allowing him to see how wet and full of sand Goku was, especially the tail attached to his rear.   
“Hehe, with all the commotion last night I didn’t even get to ask about that.”, Steven motioned towards Goku’s tail. “Is that a prop or something? How are you moving it?”  
“I don’t know what a prop is but this is my tail. It doesn’t come off. My grandpa did tell me a lot of people would stare at it, but I guess I didn’t realize how many.” he said, laughing. “I guess it’s not something you see every day.” he said, now moving the tail to fruitlessly wipe some of the sand off his wet face, which ended up making his situation even worse.  
Steven looked surprised and then smiled, “Woah, that is different. I haven’t seen anyone like you before.” he said before pausing. “Then again, I’m no stranger to difference.” he said, lifting his pyjama shirt.  
Goku tilted his head in amusement, allowing some of the morning sun to blast steven again. “What is that? It’s so shiny!”  
“It’s my gem.” responded Steven, “You see, I’m human, like you, but I am also half-Gem. If you think the tail thing is different, then get this. I’m technically half of an alien species than my mom was a part of. What you see right here (he said, touching his gem) is the alien half I got from my mom. Amethyst, the one who I was with last night, she is a gem. There are two others who you haven’t met in the temple as well. Pretty crazy, right?” he said with an awkward laugh.  
“I think that is pretty cool!” Goku responded as he balanced and bounced himself on his tail. “That must mean you can do some pretty cool things as well, right?”  
Surprised by the strength of Goku’s tail, steven paused and stuttered for a bit before he continued, “Y-Yeah, sure. I can do this.” Steven pulled out his shield, which utterly took Goku aback.  
“How did you do that?!” he said with an echo of laugher as he awed at Stevens shield.  
“Well, all gems can do it, I think. We each have a weapon that we can pull out of our gems. This just happens to be mine.” he said waving his shield around.  
“Is it magic?!”  
“Heh, not exactly.” Steven dematerialized his shield, “We should get inside. I need to clean up and change out of my pj’s. And you…you could use my bath.”  
“Nah, I’m okay. I’d rather just try and go fishing again.” Goku responded while stretching. “Right now, I want to see what you can do. Let’s spar.”  
“Spar? You still want to fight?” steven was surprised.   
“Well, yeah, it’s why I came to Beach City in the first place.”  
Steven sighed, “You just not going to let this go are you?” he said, noting how focused Goku was on preparing for this battle as if he himself had already agreed to it.  
“Mhm?” responded Goku, now looking up directly at Steven.  
“Okay, at least… let me go change first. I don’t want to be doing some training in my pj’s.” said Steven as he scurried off.  
Within less than 10 minutes, he was back, dressed in his typical day to day clothing and ready to deal with this little problem. Steven, now looking at Goku, who had himself, taken up a fighting stance, told himself that he had to remember to hold back a bit. Sure, from what he could tell, Goku was strong, but he didn’t want to take it too far and hurt him. That would be the last thing he needed right now.  
  
“Alright, you ready?” asked Steven from the distance  
Without giving a response, Goku leaped forward and covered the distance between them within seconds. The burst of speed surprised Steven more so than it did last night and caused a reflex in him as he took out his shield to defend.  
Goku took him head-on and attacked, mid-air of his leap, just before he reached Steven, he turned his body so that he went feet first, his two legs positioned so that it would make contact with Steven’s chest. Goku found his feet landing on steven shield, the force of his kick bouncing back at him to both of their surprise, propelling his body into the air as Steven changed the angle of his shield, pushing Goku upwards. For Steven, he found himself dumbstruck at the raw strength of his opponent, the force of his kick pushing him to the ground as Goku launched into the air above him.  
Once again, turning mid-air, Goku went head first towards his opponent as he fell towards the ground. Steven rolled out of the way, but as soon as he got up from the ground, he found the end of Goku’s foot inches from his face. In a panic, he didn’t realize that he had brought out his bubble, and Goku was hopping on one leg as he gripped his other foot in his hand, trying to soothe the pain.  
When the throbbing of his foot subsided, he walked up to the bubbled Steven, who smiled awkwardly through the pink tint of his protective cocoon. There was a momentary pause to which Goku raised his eyebrow at the bubble, looking confused. Then, without warning, he suddenly punched it as hard as he could, sending the bubble flying across the beach and into the ocean waters, with Steven tumbling about inside.  
Releasing the bubble, it took steven about several minutes to swim back to shore and due to terrible timing, he found Garnet facing down Goku. It was not a violent encounter but rather, to his own surprise an oddly intense, heartfelt one. She was on her knees, collapsed to the ground, and for the first time, Steven saw her without her visor on, tears in all three of her eyes, mumbling the words, “There’s no mistaking what you are. You must be his… I’m sure of it. The Saiyan that saved me all those years ago.”


End file.
